Combination pocket-tool with common leaf spring



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E: KAYSER Egon Kc COMBINATION POCKET-TOOL WITH COMMON LEAF SPRING Flled Feb 29 1956 Oct. 15, 1957 United States Patent Gfi 2,809,384 Patented Oct. 15, 1957 COMBINATION PGCKET-TOOL \VITH COMB/ION LEAF SPRING Egon Kayser, Solingen, Germany, assignor to Walter Kayser 0. H. G., Solingen, Germany, a firm This invention relates to compound tools, and more specifically to a pocket-knife.

Pocket-knives consisting of a handle or housing and of tools which can be swung out laterally of the housing and are securely locked in both their closed and opened positions by means of leaf springs coordinated thereto, are well known.

It is an object of the present invention to create a pocketknife of this kind which is additionally provided with a letter or envelope opener.

This is accomplished according to the invention in that a letter opener is hinged to one end of the pocket-knife housing and can be swung about a rivet pin extending transversely through the housing, the letter opener in its inoperative position resting in a correspondingly shaped flat recess in the outer surface of the housing of the pocket-knife.

When the letter opener is in its operative or opened position, the knife housing serves as handle for the letter opener. Thus, the pocket-knife is equipped with an efiicient and full-size letter opener.

Another object of the invention is to provide the pocketknife with an elongated leaf spring having one of its ends acting upon the letter opener at one end of the housing, while its opposite end is split up and forms two springy arms each of which acts upon a knife tool coordinated thereto.

By means of said leaf spring, the letter opener as well as the tools are locked in both their opened and closed positions.

A preferred embodiment of a pocket-knife according to the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pocket-knife composed of two shell halves and with the tools in inoperative position;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the pocket-knife with the tools in operative position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the pocket-knife with one of the tools forming a letter opener, in operative position;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 44 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the pocket-knife with one of the shell halves being removed and the tools broken away.

The pocket-knife illustrated in the drawing consists of a handle or housing composed of two shell halves 1 and 2 and short intermediate members 3 between said halves and glued thereon for holding them a distance apart. The shell halves 1, 2 and the members 3 are preferably made of pressed material or plastic material. In the embodiment illustrated the housing accommodates a knife blade 4 and a nail file 5 which are pivoted about rivet pins 6 and 7, respectively, and can be swung out laterally of the housing. 8 designates an elongated leaf spring of nearly the same length as the two halves 1, 2 and extends between said halves and through said intermediate members 3 in the longitudinal direction thereof. This leaf spring 3 is secured to the housing by means of a rivet pin 9 and has a split up end forming two springy arms 10 and 11. The arm 10 of the leaf spring 3 presses against the knife blade 4 and the arm 11 against the nail file 5 adjacent the pivot points thereof so that the knife.

blade 4 and the nail file 5 are locked in both their closed and opened positions.

12 designates a letter opener having a reinforced or thickened extension 13 which engages in a recess 14 provided in the corresponding end of the half 1. A rivet pin 15 extends transversely through said end of half 1 and through the extension 13 so that the letter opener 12 can be swung in and out. A recess 16 in the outer surface of the half 1 accommodates the letter opener 12 in its inoperative position, while a curved indentation 17 merging into the recess 16 serves to grip the letter opener 12 from below by means of a fingernail for swinging it into its opened position. The letter opener 12 is acted upon by the end of the leaf spring 8 that is remote from the split up end thereof and bears against the extension 13 of the letter opener, thus locking the latter in its closed position as well as in its opened posi tion. The letter opener may consist of the same material as the housing of the pocket-knife. It is, however, also possible to use any other material therefor.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise embodiment, particularly with respect to the materials specified in connection therewith, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a combination pocket tool including a housing comprising two shell halves, two tools pivoted between said halves adjacent one end thereof on pivot pins passing through both shell halves, a rivet pin secured in the poposite end of one of said halves and extending at right angles to said pivot pins, a third tool pivotally mounted on said rivet pin whereby said tool may be swung from an extended position to a retracted position within a recess in the outer surface of said one half, the improvement comprising an elongated leaf spring extending longitudinally through the housing between the shell halves, one end of said spring abutting said third tool thereby biasing said third tool selectively in extended or retracted position, the opposite end of said spring being split to form two springy arms, each of said arms abutting one of said two tools to selectively bias the two tools in either extended or retracted positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,015,026 Jackson et a1. Jan. 16, 1912 2,213,071 Keller Aug. 27, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 435,945 Germany Oct. 22, 1926 

